Issue 189
by THeartsQT
Summary: After seven long months, Hiro finally decides to visit Karmi. Soon, however, Hiro discovers that Karmi's new project is more than it seems. And Karmi may be finding out the same about him... Chapter 4: Cutiecator, is now up.
1. White blood cell

It was a Tuesday afternoon at the Lucky Cat Cafe, and five friends and a plump robot were chatting around their usual table. They talked about everything from their new secret lair, to Globby's current emotional state, to the latest chapter of KHeartsQT's fanfiction.

Yet not a word was heard by their youngest member. He was slumped, chin on knuckles, gazing down at the table.

"Hiro. What's up," Gogo remarked when she noticed it. He mumbled wordlessly in response.

"Come on man, something's bugging you. You can tell us," Wasabi cajoled.

This only caused Hiro to stand up suddenly, both hands on the table with a determined expression, and walk briskly out of the cafe. He drew his hood over his head and took his phone out of his pocket to summon Skymax as he walked down the street.

Without breaking step, he spun on his heel and walked dejectedly back to where he had come from. He had forgotten something.

When he got back, the others were standing up, ready to come look for him. "Hiro, is everything..." Honey Lemon trailed off.

"Baymax," Hiro said shortly, gesturing for him to follow and walking outside. But Honey Lemon stopped him. "Hiro, it's alright if you don't want to tell us now. Just... we want to help." Hiro hesitated at this. He wanted to tell them, tell them about all the pent up frustration and lingering loneliness, about the inexplicable sense of betrayal. But he was, frankly, embarrassed. Perhaps he'd tell them when he returned.

"Thanks guys," he appreciated. But he kept walking.

Skymax was waiting for him a few blocks from the store. Suddenly, Wasabi cried out. "Hiro!" He mouthed silently, "Chief Cruz!" and pointed with his thumb to where the said person was strolling up to the cafe. Hiro's eyes widened as he frantically pressed the deactivate button on his screen. Just in time, Skymax flew up, and Hiro tucked his phone behind his back, arranging his face into a grin at the Chief.

Wasabi signalled with a thumbs-up, and Hiro ran down into an alley a little further up, summoned Skymax, and geared up both him and Baymax. He wasn't expecting to use the suits' superpowers: all he needed was to fly. As he mounted his companion, he asked him, "Baymax, can you scan for Karmi?"

Baymax blinked at the question, as though slightly surprised. "Karmi. Scanning... Karmi is located: at SFIM, San Fransokyo Institute of Medicine, in room A113."

"How long will it take to get there?"

"Approximately: thirty minutes. SFIM is on the other side of the city."

"Buddy, time to fly."

The duo landed quietly in SFIM's green space. It was rather late, and the university's tall building cast a long shadow on the lawn. There were only a couple of lights on in the school's many floors, and Hiro knew just who would be working in one of them at this time. He and Baymax hurried into the bushes, or in the case of Baymax, waddled awkwardly. Discreetly, they packed away their suits with Skymax.

But when they stepped out, they were blinded by the light of a phone's flash photo. Hiro shielded himself, yet when he recovered, he could not see who had taken the photo, between the spots that were still swimming in his eyes. He rubbed them and took Baymax's hand, leading him to the entrance of the majestic building.

Hiro straightened his shirt, patted down his helmet-hair and generally tried to look somewhat less dishevelled than normal. This institute felt as though it deserved a higher level of respect, somehow. Perhaps it was the classy lighting fixtures that lit up the white walls and vast hall, or the sparse yet ergonomic furnishing. Perhaps it was simply the fact that it was the only other university he had been to other than San Fransokyo Tech.

Or perhaps it was the prospect of seeing her again, for the first time in seven months, that was intimidating.

Hiro breathed in. She couldn't have forgotten about him: she never missed replying to his reviews of her fanfiction. But would she be glad to see him? Would he be disturbing her in the middle of whatever groundbreaking work that girl was up to now?

What did it matter? Hiro would see her, and if she did not want him, he would leave without a fuss. But if she did, he would be there. He would be there. He would be there for her. Hiro could not pretend that he just as badly wanted her to be there for him.

Just then, a voice called irritably from the reception desk. "Hey kid, are you going to come in or not?" Hiro started, then decided that now was as good a time as any. He stepped through the automatic doors and walked briskly up to the slouched lady at the desk. Baymax followed.

"Can I help you?"

Hiro shifted nervously. "Hi, I'm looking for a girl named Karmi? She started here recently, she's a biotech major, I'm not sure if you know her?"

"Last name?"

It struck Hiro as odd that he had never asked Karmi this. "Well, actually, I don't kno-" He was cut off by the air being squeezed out of his lungs.

* * *

"Stem cell T-23 is good for experimentation, Karmi," called a short-haired, tall girl from the other side of lab A113. She pushed her roller chair from her desk and handed the sample to Karmi, who was clad in enormous safety goggles, a clean lab coat and sterile latex gloves. Currently, she was carefully injecting a Petri dish with a clear, viscous liquid and was concentrating on measuring out the liquid precisely.

"Thanks, Vicky," she nodded to her lab partner as she continued. "Margo, how are the results graphs coming? Did you finish them for T-19?" Her other teammate sat to her right and was busy punching some numbers into a calculator. She wore no safety equipment, despite the nature of their project, only a baggy shirt that said, tech me to the moon.

"Huh?" She flipped through a thick binder. "Yeah, I think I did, except the-"

Karmi interrupted her abruptly. "Sh." Her brow was furrowed.

"Why-"

"Sh."

The lab was silent for a moment before Karmi heard the voice drifting faintly, familiarly, up the stairs. "... she's a biotech major, I'm not sure if- "

"Ok, well- " Margo started to continue.

But Karmi had stood up, a grin crawling up her face, the syringe left dripping on the table. She paused for a moment, not wanting to believe it in case she was wrong. Then she flew out the door, her coat billowing behind her, and flung herself down the stairs.

She stopped on the second stair to the bottom to take off her safety goggles, not believing that it was really him, standing there, hands in pockets, hair a mess, a little out of place and just there. She grinned wider as an idea came to her: she would scare him.

Karmi tread quickly, silently, to behind where Hiro stood.

Then, without warning, she engulfed him.

As tightly and wholly as a white blood cell would a pathogen.

* * *

"Hiro!" she exclaimed, squeezing the air out of his lungs.

After he recovered from the initial shock, Hiro started smiling uncontrollably. "Karmi- can't- brea- "

"Oh, Hiro what took you so long?"

"Karmi- "

"Shush, Genius Boy." And he hugged her back, smelling the familiar disinfectant and latex in her coat. She buried her head into his short self, his smell a familiar mix of musty garage and robotics prodigy. Well, thought Karmi, if they ever made a scent called robots prodigy, this is what it would smell like.

They let go, and Hiro spoke. "I mean, I knew you would miss me, but not that much," he joked.

"Don't flatter yourself, Genius Boy."

But then her tone turned accusatory as she stepped back and pointed a finger at his chest. "Why didn't you come before? I thought we were friends, and friends don't just ditch each other because the other one left their school for good. Not that I'd have known much about that, but I know I wouldn't do that to you. I only couldn't come because I was explicitly banned from SFIT and surrounds on pain of being grounded until I turn 18. And I'm kind of fond of my childhood. You had better come up with a good excuse, Genius Boy. And no, commenting on my fanfics doesn't count as human interaction."

Hiro was sheepish. "Er... I've been... busy?" The truth was that he had never been able to gather the courage to actually make the journey and see her. He had been so doubtful she'd even want to see him, especially after he was one of the reasons she had to go away in the first place. He had been frustrated at her leaving without bothering to say goodbye or even letting him know. He had felt lonely talking to her like a regular fan, like she hadn't just gone and left him, through his laptop screen. But now that he was here, he found it silly to not have come earlier, if this was the kind of reception he would have gotten.

Karmi snorted at his response. "Sure you were."

They both turned their heads at the sound of two girls whispering on the staircase. They were Vicky and Margo. "Oh!" Karmi exclaimed at the sight, remembering. She had left the syringe dripping unhygienically and potentially disastrously on the tabletop, next to a cell that was almost certainly dead by now. "Sorry Hiro, gotta run, be right back..."

Thus, as quickly as she had come, Karmi was gone.

Hiro was left standing awkwardly opposite the reception desk, with two girls who were now descending the stairs. "Hi, I'm Margo," the shorter one waved confidently. "You must be Karmi's friend. We were just going to tell her that she may or may not want to check out the potentially catastrophic mistake she just made, leaving a syringe leaking and a pathogen unsupervised, but," she shrugged, "most people do that within their first week. I'm surprised it took her this long."

Hiro grinned back. "Well, I'm not. She's very meticulous when it comes to biotech. Or anything, actually."

"She must really like you to come down like that. Why haven't you come earlier? Why didn't any of Karmi's other friends?"

Hiro didn't really want to answer that, so he turned to the taller girl. "Karmi's sure made a few good friends here. Are you guys working on a project?"

Vicky answered a little shyly. "Yes, we are."

Hiro had to prompt her. "What's your goal?"

"To- We're trying to find a way to clone green algae."

Hiro was a little surprised at this, more so perhaps than even the fact that Karmi had agreed to work civilly with others in a team. "Why would you want to do that?" Also, Hiro was pretty sure that the method had already been discovered.

But his question was left unanswered as Karmi came bounding down the steps, exhibiting a level of exuberance Hiro had only ever seen when she was in the presence of her beloved Captain Cutie. She jumped the last step, yet when she looked up, her expression was anxious. She smiled briefly at him, then turned to her friends darkly.

"The syringe. The cytoplasmic mix." The girls turned, worry in their eyes. "It dissolved a patch of the table. And T-23. Much more than a drop leaked... almost the entire contents of the syringe have been spilt."

Vicky wrinkled her brow. "But our research?" she asked. "And the specimens? They're good, right?"

Karmi bit her lip. "Half your binder has been dissolved." She paused. "But the specimens are fine, despite their close proximity. It's a miracle, really."

Vicky let out a breath she didn't realise she had been holding. Her relief was disproportionate to the amount of damage done. Smiling grimly, Margo patted her friend on the shoulder. When she had joked about the potentially catastrophic consequences of Karmi's mistake earlier, she had not considered just how impactful the damage might be. "Karmi, how will we get our research back?" Margo whispered a swear word.

Karmi rubbed her temples. "I don't think we will." She turned her attention to the boy looking down guiltily. It was his fault for coming in when he knew Karmi was working. "Hiro, you are a distraction," she asserted.

"I'm sorry Karmi, I didn't know what..." Hiro trailed off, looking sideways at Karmi. He cocked his head away from her, his bangs flopping down. "A distraction, you say? Should I take that as a compliment?"

Huffing, Karmi tried to suppress a smile. "Well is there anything you can do to fix this blunder?"

"Karmi," Hiro cracked his knuckles, "this is what I do." He started listing on his fingers. "I'm going to need one of your student login details, fifteen minutes at that computer," he tilted his head in the direction of the receptionist's desk, "one 16 gig USB, that guy's hairband," he referred to a student with a man bun who just happened to be passing through, "and four large packets of gummy bears. Stat. And months of your hard work will be magically restored."

"That guy's hairband?" Karmi asked incredulously. "I could give you mine."

"No compromises. I have a very specific set of skills," he stated, with the subtlest glint in his eye.

"Or none at all, Genius Boy," Karmi muttered. But she was already on the job.

* * *

**Author's Note**

Thanks for reading! Just to be clear, my stories don't all exist in the same world or continue on in any way. So, in my other story Privacy Breach, Karmi finds out that Hiro is Captain Cutie. However, in this story, she doesn't know. It just continues on from where the TV series left off. Leave a review if you want- feedback is appreciated!.


	2. Blackout

"You can use my login details and my USB," volunteered Vicky.

"I can get you fifteen minutes at the reception computer," chimed in Margo.

"And I guess that leaves me with the gummy bears and," Karmi lowered her voice, "that guy's hairband."

"Ready? Break," announced Hiro as they set to work. They were getting him the materials he needed to recover their research data, though none of them questioned just how he would do it. It seemed Karmi had enough faith in his abilities, and her friends trusted her enough to trust him. He marvelled at how well Karmi was fitting into her new school, when just last year she had been something of a recluse. Of course, she was still an introvert and enjoyed the company of her viruses far more than humans, but she could achieve higher heights in a team than by herself.

Hiro walked quickly over to a bench near where Karmi was about to persuade the boy to give up his hairband. Not being obliged to help, he asked Baymax for a lollipop and sat licking it, anticipating an entertaining encounter.

Karmi noticed him watching her and made an I-can't-believe-you're-making-me-do-this face at him. Hiro smiled innocently in return. The boy, lanky with a checkered shirt and man bun, was leaning against a wall and scrolling through his phone.

Boldy, Karmi walked up to him. "Excuse me." Once he looked up, she went straight to the point. "I think your hair would look better if it was out, you know? I need your hairband."

The expression on his face was priceless: he was shocked and weirded out and amused and incredulous, all at once. Hiro simply could not keep a straight face as he laughed loudly, almost falling on the floor before Baymax caught him in his lap. The lollipop failed to stay inside his mouth as he snorted.

Ok, it wasn't that funny, but when you're the one who set her up, trust me. It is. Karmi's face was red, having realised Hiro's true motives. "I'm sorry..." she stammered to the guy. He just waved a hand and smiled, guessing this was only some prank.

Ah, it was so good, the feeling of a plan coming together, thought Hiro. And then Karmi started laughing. She couldn't help it!

"Hiro!" Karmi squealed a little too loudly, between fits. "Did you actually even need his hairband?"

Hiro shook his head, smirking.

"I'm going to... " Karmi threatened, miming strangling him. But it was impossible for a giggling girl to sound threatening. She punched his arm, not entirely playfully.

"Get my gummy bears now?" Hiro finished for her.

Karmi rolled her eyes. "Oh, look at us, finishing each other's- "

"Sandwiches." Hiro interrupted.

"I was going to say, 'finishing each other's sentences the complete opposite way the other person wanted to'."

"But still. I'm getting my gummy bears."

"If it'll make you happy," Karmi submitted. "But you'll only get them when you finish helping us."

The trio of girls met Hiro at the bottom of the staircase with their respective tasks complete. Margo had informed the receptionist of an unspecified paperwork emergency to get her out of her seat, Vicky was ready and logged in to the computer with her credentials and a plugged-in USB, and Karmi was embarrassed beyond belief.

"Come on Genius Boy, we aren't paying you by the hour," Karmi urged.

Hiro took the USB and plugged it in hastily. "Well it's not like you're paying me at all," he muttered. Within a few clicks, he was on the SecureCam application.

"Dang it. We need another username and password combo to access the footage. And they're a security company, so their defences are impossible to crack."

Karmi wondered why he was accessing the footage in the first place, but they didn't have time for questions. "How impossible?" she quizzed.

Hiro smirked. "Two minutes."

And in the said time frame, Hiro's fingers flew over the keys, culminating in a satisfying 'Access granted' notification. Then he clicked on the footage from biotech lab A113. He zoomed in on Vicky's binder and downloaded each page of it from the footage onto the USB. Slowly, Vicky and Margo smiled in relief. Nothing had been lost.

Suddenly, Karmi whipped around at a sound no one else heard. Upon seeing that no one was there, she relaxed. "Guys, we should be more vigilant. The receptionist could return any moment. Do we have an alibi in case?"

Hiro turned to her while continuing with downloading the footage. "Easy. We say we were trying to change your grade. Because you thought you did so badly you couldn't bear to show your parents, and had to know it ahead of time."

Karmi raised an eyebrow. "I'm possibly the most skilled biotech major there is."

"Objectively, I'm sure."

She ignored him. "No one's going to believe that."

"You didn't hear the rest. We say that we were trying to change your mark, but then we found out you'd gotten an A anyway. Sound fair? Believable? We won't get into trouble because we didn't really do anything, and it's better than guiltily saying 'nothing' in unison."

The girls nodded. "And done!" exclaimed Hiro. He logged out and handed the USB to Vicky. "That, my friends, was genius at work."

Karmi snorted. She turned to her friends. "They say he's a genius, but you won't believe the kinds of stupid things he's done."

"Who says I'm a genius?" Hiro asked cockily.

But Margo interrupted. "Guys, we should talk in the lab. Flee the crime scene, you know."

"I believe we're forgetting something? There's the small matter of my payment." Hiro looked at Karmi.

"Ugh. Fine."

Karmi led Hiro to the closest vending machine, which was still a few hallways away. She dialled her order and slotted in some coins that jingled as they fell. The pair waited expectantly as three colourful packets of gummy bears fell into the tray at the bottom. But just as the fourth packet was being released, the machine stopped.

And then the lights went out.

Hiro blinked twice to check that his eyes weren't closed; it was pitch dark. "Karmi?" he called.

"Right here. Hang on." Hiro heard the sound of light footsteps jogging away, down the corridor. Well, guess I'm alone in the dark then, he thought dejectedly, wondering how long Karmi would take.

In a minute he heard the same footsteps approaching. "Just wanted to check if the lights were off everywhere or only here," explained Karmi. "I heard people in the library complaining about the internet being down, so the problem is all over the school at least. Do you want to go back or wait this out?"

Hiro feigned horror. "What, without my gummy bears?"

Karmi shrugged, then realised Hiro couldn't see. "If you want."

"I paid for my gummy bears, I'm getting my gummy bears," Hiro grumbled.

"Technically, I paid for them," Karmi muttered. She piqued at the sound of a steel trap door closing. "Hiro?"

"OWW!" he exclaimed in pain. "Karmi, I'm stuck!" Hiro's hand was stuck in the flap of the vending machine, which he had forced open, but would not let him receive his order until it could wake up to give him permission. "Ayaa! I can feel the throb of constricted blood flow already." The robotics genius grunted as he tried to push open the door, but this only resulted in his other hand being stuck inside too.

"What must one do in this world for a simple packet of GUMMY BEARS?" he cried in exasperation.

"Step aside, robotics prodigy," she stressed the last words ironically. "Where are you?"

"Marco," he replied.

"Polo," she kept with the game.

"Marco."

"Oh right, you're stuck. I expected you to be walking towards me. Polo."

Suddenly, Hiro felt a pain in his foot and a weight thrown against him. Hair brushed him as Karmi squealed; probably more out of surprise than pain. Quickly he caught her, her shoulders in his arms.

"Yeesh. Thanks for tripping me over there," Karmi said, righting herself up. "Why did you have to stick out your foot? Did you want me to fall into your arms?" she joked.

"It was an accident and you know it." Only now he felt the pain of the scrape of metal against the back of his hands.

"Hey, what do you know?" Hiro wiggled his fingers. "I'm free of the vending machine. But geez does it hurt."

Karmi felt around for his sleeve, then gripped it. She moved down to his hands and held them, one in each of hers.

"You know I could have helped you out without it hurting that much?" she rubbed circles on the back of his palms with her thumbs.

Hiro laughed sheepishly. "But then I wouldn't have been able to catch you." The rubbing was nice, he thought, but he wished he didn't have to get hurt before that. It let him know that she was still there, even when he couldn't see her.

Just like she was after she left.

Karmi stopped the rubbing and felt Hiro's left wrist. "Hiro, what's this? I can feel a fracture in your wrist; there's a bit of swelling."

Hiro looked away from where he thought her eyes were. "Um. I, er, fell on it." It was best to lie with the truth. In fact, Hiro had injured it as El Fuego threw him forcefully to the side in one of their many battles. It was actually not the fall that had caused the fracture, but rather his armour itself breaking and impacting the area.

"What were you even doing?"

Just then, Hiro was mightily relieved at the distraction of a squeaking sound down the corridor.

And then he was a little scared. "... What's that?" Karmi's voice was uncertain. It did not sound threatening, but then again, how could she tell without knowing what it was?

After a moment, Hiro's eyes widened. "Baymax?"

The squeaking stopped. "Hello," said a calming robotic voice. "I am Baymax, your personal healthcare companion. I was alerted to the need for medical attention when you said: ow. Also, I was alerted to the need for gummy bears when you said: gummy bears."

"It's alright, Baymax. I'm fine. I said 'ow' a while ago."

"I am not fast."

"Right. Although... Hey Karmi, do you want to see something cool?"

"Can't see anything right now," she stated.

As if on cue, the building was flooded with light.

"Gah!" Hiro and Karmi rubbed their eyes, as Baymax adjusted his optical sensor.

Blinking, Hiro smiled in relief. "Karmi, watch this. Baymax, Hammerfist!" Baymax brought his hand down hard in the air. "Side kick!" He thrust his leg out. "Knifehand! Back kick!" Baymax did as he was told, with Karmi watching, slightly amazed.

"You taught your robot karate?"

"Sure did."

Karmi looked at him beseechingly. "But why?"

Hiro parted his lips and stepped back. Maybe he shouldn't have mentioned this. She didn't need to know why.

He evaded the question. "That's not even the best part. Look. Baymax, gummy bears!" he cried. Baymax walked up to the vending machine, and with just the right amount of force, tapped the half-released gummy bear packet. It fell with a satisfying crunch of plastic.

"Yes!" exclaimed the boy genius. Karmi held the flap open for him while Hiro extracted the four packets. "Baymax, fist bump!"

"Ba-la-la-la-la"

"Aw!" cried Karmi affectionately. "Let me try. Baymax, fistbump." She held out her fist. Baymax blinked once, then bumped it just as he would with Hiro.

"Ba-la-la-la-la"

Just then, the robot began glowing a light red. "Er, Hiro? Is he supposed to do that?" Karmi tapped his shoulder uncertainly.

"Hiro. You have a new message from: Gogo," said Baymax. He began to read it. "Hiro, we need-"

Hiro cut him off hastily. Immediately he knew it must be something about the team. "Baymax, stop." They must have had to fight a villain while he was gone, and he had not been there to help, he thought guiltily. He had not had Baymax with him, so he had not replied to any of their messages either. What an irresponsible 'Captain' he was.

But he would think about that later. Right now, Karmi could not see what was in that message.

"Hey Karmi, can I read my messages in private? Thanks. I'm sorry," he added quickly.

Karmi creased her brow. "Sure. Whatever." What could his friends possibly tell him that was so secret? Whatever they had to say, they could say in front of her, couldn't they? Reluctantly, she began walking down the now-lit corridor to her shared lab.

The moment she was out of earshot, Hiro turned to Baymax.

"What does it say?" he urged.

"Hiro, we need you down here! At least reply if you can't make it!" Her voice was interrupted by a crash, and Hiro held his breath in concern. It seemed the team were in the middle of battle. Gogo grunted. "I don't think I'll be able to ask you again." Baymax's screen closed.

"Hiro. You also have: 49. Unread messages in the past: half an hour." Hiro's jaw dropped. Not only was he a terrible captain, but a bad friend, teammate and person in general. How many of those were from the team calling for backup? Probably all of them.

He forced his dejected self to put on a brave face. "I'll read them on the way."

Hiro sprinted past classrooms. Well, as fast as he could with a marshmallow robot in tow. As he rushed into the reception area, he saw that the receptionist was still missing. He wondered whether it was more than just Margo's distraction that kept her away.

He did not have time to think about it. Upon seeing him, Karmi called out.

"Hiro! Where are you going?"

Hiro bit his lip. "I have to go back." He hesitated. "Don't worry. I'll come visit soon." And with that, he was gone.

"Hiro! Wait! Are you ok..." She trailed off. the door still swinging in the aftermath of her friend's exit.

* * *

**Author's Note**

It took me a while to get this chapter up- although, believe it or not, I had already written half of it before I published the first chapter. Why, you ask? Well, I don't normally write fanfic on the app on my phone, but it was the afternoon after I finished all my yearlies for school, and I felt like taking a well-deserved break. So I sat on my bed, took out my phone, and wrote around 1000 words in one sitting.

But guess what.

I didn't save any of it! This nitwit thought she had saved it too, so I spent a lot of time searching for it, reloading the browser and searching up 'how to recover lost work on '. Needless to say, my efforts were in vain.

Anyway, in the end, I rewrote it. It turned out better than my original one in some ways, too. Sadly I couldn't remember some of the witty banter I had planned for Hiro and Karmi, though.

Also, hint: the blackout is significant- somebody's up to something bad... And no, what are you talking about- of course I didn't just write it in for the cute moment (although that may or may not have been my primary motive).

Also, I took the idea for some of the funny bits from incorrect big hero 6 quotes, a tumblr page.

I know this note is super long, but I must shout out to KenKic4Ever, the drawings of whom are amazing. Especially the Karmiro ones!

Disclaimer: I don't own Big Hero 6, Disney does (along with around half of all known entertainment companies).

Feedback is greatly appreciated! If you like, you can follow so you don't miss the next chapter


	3. Leave Me Again

Twenty metres above the city of San Fransokyo, the wind rushed through his armour. Some of the highways below were marked with bumper-to-bumper red brake lights, while in others, traffic flew in a blur. In the twilight, Hiro did not notice the stunning sight before him. He also did not notice the distinct lack of the city's trademark lighting.

Baymax was reading out his messages, each one causing Hiro to grow more anxious.

Message one was a quick brief of the situation. "Hiro, we need you down here quick. High Voltage is causing some trouble down at Night Market Square, and they've cut the power to the entire city. Meet you here ASAP."

So that was why SFIM had that blackout. He hadn't thought much of it at the time.

Though he had thought that after being exploited by a supervillain and turned into eels once, the duo would learn their lesson. Apparently even without their powers, jail couldn't hold them. He had to admit they were pretty amazing dancers.

Message two was more tense. "Hiro they've got the- *_grunt*_ *_crash*_ they've got their energy orb. Hurry!"

Honey Lemon spoke in the next message. "If you can't make it, just let us know. But it's weird: High Voltage isn't stealing anything, just destroying property. We need backup to see what they're really up to. We need you, Hiro!"

Hiro stopped listening after that. The recordings only made him feel more guilty.

He refrained from asking Baymax to boost his speed. That would use up precious energy, when he might have to go without a charge for a while.

When the pair swooped in to the crime scene, they found Fred helping a battered Honey Lemon to her feet. Hiro braced for their disappointment as he landed.

"Hiro, where were you?" asked Fred. "High Voltage just came and killed all the lights in the city." Luckily this wasn't the lecture Hiro was expecting. "They didn't steal anything though," continued Fred, "so Comic book 101 says that they're working for someone." He stressed the last words menacingly. Then he frowned in thought. "We could probably narrow it down to someone living in one of the few places with power."

Hiro was about to agree when Gogo whizzed in, carrying Wasabi. He seemed to be missing the right arm of his armour, which he was carrying in two cracked pieces.

Gogo set him down. "Hiro, we really needed you. Wasabi got burned after High Voltage short circuited and broke his armour."

"Ow!" cried Wasabi in confirmation.

Baymax approached him and soothed the area with icy hands. "There, there." Wasabi sighed in relief, then remembered that his injury was Hiro's fault. He tried to glare at him for a moment, but a smile took over as Baymax began massaging the area.

"So where were you?" Honey Lemon pressed.

Hiro looked away. He had a duty to tell them, his friends. Guiltily, he said, "I went to visit Karmi."

Gogo popped a bubblegum. "Wait, so you haven't visited her all this time?"

"Oh, you missed her!" gushed Honey Lemon.

"Man, why didn't you tell us?" said Wasabi.

"Did she allow you to bring food inside her lab? Is she accidentally working for a villain again?" Fred asked, a little too enthusiastically.

Their responses were not at all what Hiro had expected, and he shuffled his feet. He did not deserve such good friends.

He opened his mouth to thank them, and to answer Fred that no, food is still not allowed inside her lab, though we were about to feast on gummy bears before you guys called me over, when he realised something.

"Guys." He patted Gogo's shoulder absently, impatiently.

They all looked towards him.

"I think I know where the person behind all this might be."

* * *

A moment later, Gogo was flying on her hover disk, Honey Lemon was travelling via ice ejected from her shoe, Fred was bouncing through the city, with Wasabi clinging to Baymax with Hiro on board. They raced on top of buildings to get to the other side of San Fransokyo.

"Hiro, are you sure you're right?" It was a testament to her stamina that Honey Lemon did not stop to draw breath.

"Pretty sure. The lights went off for a while, but after around ten minutes the power was back to full functionality. I mean, like, every bright light in the place was working, the computers were running, not to mention the tech in Karmi's lab, and every pathogen incubation system in every lab. That's a lot of power, and they'd need to have some serious foresight to have a backup generator to power all that. So yeah, it's probably someone at SFIM."

"So I was right? Karmi's boss is evil again?" quipped Fred.

"Actually, yeah. Though she doesn't have a boss, and our villain could be anyone in the college, especially a staff member in charge. Look around, guys. Even the places that have backup generators are using their energy sparingly. If Karmi were at SFIT, all her cultures would have died because the power she would need for incubation was cut."

Gogo flew level with Baymax. "Hang on. Maybe SFIM needed Karmi's cultures or something. Like, really needed. Enough to spend so much money on a backup power source."

"Yeah. Backup power is expensive," said Fred. "Which is why I didn't have it when Mole cut the power to my house so he could bid for Captain Fancy Issue 188." He was evidently still salty about that. "I prefer to spend my fortune on comic books, thanks. Although of course, now I do have backup in case of any further Mole-related comic book schemes."

Hiro was pondering Gogo's theory. "That's unlikely." Then he recalled what Vicky had said. "They're trying to clone green algae. That's what Karmi's friend said."

"Karmi has friends now?" Gogo was incredulous.

"Yeah, she's doing pretty well. Anyway, at the time, I thought it was kind of weird, since people have already invented a method to do it. And why would they want to clone algae, of all things?"

Hiro's musings were interrupted by Fred noticing something down below. "Guys, look. Kreitech's power is off too."

The others, except for Wasabi, who was clinging to Baymax with his eyes shut tight, looked to where he was pointing. "Doesn't he need constant electricity for his latest tech, the material shifter thingo?" Wasabi said, willing himself not to look down. "You know, the one that can change any material into another using a manipulated process of radioactive decay?"

"You mean the Creator," Hiro said. He had gathered this from his internship at Kreitech, where Krei had finally let him do something of importance and help maintain it. He knew it required a continuous flow of energy to keep everything it had transformed, well, transformed. It was still in its beta stages, so transformed items were still wholly dependent on the machine.

"Well, 'Prepared' isn't exactly Krei's middle name," said Gogo. "Oh, and by the way Hiro, I used a bit of basic coding so Baymax would glow red when your unread message count hit fifty."

"Oh yeah," said Hiro, remembering. "I didn't even get to eat my gummy bears because of High Voltage! Luckily the packets will be waiting for me when I get back."

* * *

Karmi sat back in her chair, eating gummy bears like they were popcorn. She squished one in her mouth and squeezed the packet. She had finished the whole thing.

Margo laughed heartily. "Karmi, I've never seen you eat that much of anything that quick. Weren't you supposed to get them for that boy? Hiro?"

Vicky moved her chair next to Karmi's. "Karmi, is something up? Not that I mind, but you're not supposed to eat in the lab. It's just so…" she fumbled for the right word.

"Un-Karmi-ish?" Margo raised her eyebrows.

"Well, yeah."

Margo gestured for Karmi to give her the remaining gummy bear packets. "It's for your own good."

Rolling her eyes, Karmi handed them over. She knew her friend just wanted to eat them herself, and was not surprised when she did.

Quietly, Vicky asked, "It's that kid, isn't it?"

"Uh?"

"He said he'd come see you soon," she looked down at her palms. "But he didn't come to see you for seven months after you left his school. You don't think he's coming back."

Karmi looked at her, biting her lip. "Yeah," she whispered finally. He was my first real friend, she wanted to say. It took too long for us to stop hating each other, or for me to stop hating him, and just when we finally started being civil, I was whisked away. He saved my life once. While putting his on the line. He taught me how to be a friend, and he's the reason I'm sitting here with you now, not in a lab that's basically solitary confinement.

But she didn't need to say any of that, because even without knowing their history together, her friends could tell from the way her eyes drooped, that he meant that much to her.

Karmi could tell Margo understood. But she was never the kind of girl for sappiness. "You've got it bad for him, huh?" she asked, twirling a gummy bear.

Karmi jolted from her reminiscing. "What?"

She recalled, from a corner of her mind, that at some point she had said the exact same thing to him. At that time, she had not believed anyone would do anything for her just out kindness, especially when she had treated him so poorly. She had reasoned that the only possible explanation for his actions was that he had a crush on her.

But now, well, maybe absence really did make the heart grow fonder. She had forgotten about that grin, that cutting tongue, and how fun they were together.

"Oh come on. I don't know how you guys met or even that he existed until an hour ago, but I can tell you like him. And not in the lovesick, naive kind of way you love Captain Cutie." Karmi was offended at this, but only slightly. "You really know him. You missed him. And you're scared that he didn't miss you. He's got a whole other life, while yours was destroyed with Sycorax."

Karmi glared at her. "We're friends, ok? And I have a life now. A better one. Friends miss each other, Margo. And I. Missed. Him."

Margo threw up her hands in defence. "Sure, ok. You're totally just friends."

Karmi grimaced at this. "Ok, we aren't 'just' friends. No more than you and I are 'just' friends. I have only four people in the world who I call my friends, and they matter to me. A lot." She looked up at her labmates. "You matter to me, and so does- "

She was interrupted by Margo's snort.

She tried to continue. "Anyway, imagine for a second the ludicrous possibility that I _somehow_ like him. He isn't coming back." But then Vicky held up a hand in silence. She was concentrating on listening to something, it seemed. Karmi stopped talking, wondering what Vicky had heard, when she heard it too.

Suddenly, she stood. She did not have time to disbelieve her ears before she was bounding down the stairs, for the second time that day.

* * *

When she got down to the reception area, her heart sank immediately.

For in front of her, crossing the threshold of the automatic doors and surveying their surroundings, was Captain Cutie and the rest of Big Hero 6.

Not Hiro.

She was surprised to find that she was actually a little let down at their presence. She would rather have Hiro. She vividly remembered the day she was mutated into a monster by Liv, no Di, Amara. She had called Hiro for help then, while Big Hero 6 had been busy elsewhere. And he had come without hesitation. Without superpowers. Without backup. But with courage. It was his arms into which she collapsed, weary at the end of the battle.

And it was his voice that she had heard from her lab. She was certain of it. So why wasn't he here?

Still, Big Hero 6 were pretty amazing, though of course they weren't Hiro. She walked up to them, since the receptionist was still missing. "Hi, Big Hero 6. Is there anything I can do to help?"

Captain Cutie turned to her and cleared his throat, speaking in his deep voice that had once made her swoon. Actually, to be fair, he could have had any voice in the world and it would still have made her gush. "Karmi. We, uh, had a slight problem with villains around this area, and we think their mastermind works here at SFIM. Have you noticed anyone acting strangely?"

Karmi looked worriedly at the team. If they were right, and a villain was causing trouble here, her parents would move her farther away from San Fransokyo. Perhaps to another country this time. Then she would truly never see her friends again.

"I'm sorry. I don't think I can help you. I can't get involved again." She didn't bother to elaborate. After all, what would they care if she was taken away? All they cared about was protecting the city. Which was great, but she couldn't call them her friends.

Speed Queen walked up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "May I ask why?"

Karmi looked away. She liked to think they were just being nice, but they only wanted information. But it would feel nice to tell someone about it. "Last time, when I was an intern at Sycorax," she heard herself say to the floor, "I was mutated into a monster. Then my parents just took me away from SFIT, my school. And they planted me here, away from my friends. I really miss them." She finally looked into her eyes.

"I know," Speed Queen said quietly, kneeling down to her level. "You won't believe how much they miss you." Karmi did not notice the sideways glance she stole at Captain Cutie, who began rubbing the nape of his neck.

"Then why won't they come to see me?" she begged, almost childishly. Maybe this was their way of manipulating her into giving them the information they needed. "Why do they leave me?"

Chop Chop placed one hand on Speed Queen and the other on Karmi's shoulder. "Why don't you ask them?" he said kindly.

"I… I don't… "

Tall Girl smiled sadly at her. "Karmi, you are right. Your parents might take you away."

"Don't let them do that," she pleaded.

"But if you help us, you can prevent a catastrophe that could harm many more people."

"How do I know you're right?" she asked hesitantly.

Captain Cutie had been quiet for a while. Now he spoke. "Karmi, do you believe me?"

"What?" she ventured.

"Do you believe me?"

The word, the simple word yes was on the tip of her tongue, just waiting to roll off. If she just relaxed, she would say it and follow Captain Cutie to wherever he led her. _Yes_. Say it. _Yes_.

But she couldn't.

"Believe _you_? I don't even know who you are!"

And with that, she stormed off to her lab.

Big Hero 6 was left open-mouthed. "That's… that's new," Hiro stammered.

After a few seconds, Wasabi broke the silence.

"So how are we going to find out anything now?"

* * *

**Author's Note**

I believe it was a Master Fredrick that said it best: _Ah, the power of the secret identity._

Karmi's really grown, hasn't she? Anyway. I just watched that scene in Legacies where Karmi watches Hiro from her laptop, and can I just take this moment to say:

Yup. I ship it.

Thank you to everyone who's reading this so far, I know the uploading is going slow. But writing this has been so fun, and I certainly intend to finish this.

As always, all constructive feedback is welcome!

_Edit: I have got a fourth chapter in the works, but I don't think I'll publish anything until around April 3. I'm so sorry to keep you all waiting! I'm just wondering why I chose to accelerate Music 2 for the HSC... (I'm doing it 2 yrs ahead and I am _not _ready) My exams finish on that day, so I guess you can expect the next chapter then- that is unless I start procrastinating, which will mean the next chapter will be up earlier!_


	4. Cutiecator

**Quick Recap:**

High Voltage was causing mayhem earlier, and caused a city-wide blackout. A certain receptionist has been missing for a while now, and waaay at the beginning Hiro hacked into her computer to access Karmi, Margo and Vicky's (her friends) research book for their project on the cloning of algae. Also, Karmi stress-ate all of Hiro's gummy bears! And right now, the gang is standing slack-jawed in the reception of SFIM, with Karmi refusing to tell them any information on goings-on at SFIM.

* * *

**Chapter 4 - Cutiecator**

"Unbelievable," repeated Hiro, pacing across the lobby in his armour. "If she won't listen to Captain Cutie, who _will _she listen to?"

"Ooh, I know this one!" interjected Fred. "No one. Right? So… talk it out with me here, Hiro. If she won't listen to anyone… "

Suddenly, Hiro stopped pacing. "Fred, you're a genius! If she won't talk to anyone, we'll just spy on her!" Immediately he began meddling with the communicator in his helmet. "I just have to quickly make a bug out of my comm…"

"She might listen to _you_," Honey Lemon ventured helpfully. "I really think she would, Hiro. And it's not the best idea to violate her trust right now."

"She'd kill you for that, man," said Gogo, translating what Honey sugar-coated. "Don't spy."

But Hiro had already fashioned an audio device that could receive signals from wherever it was placed, and feedback straight to his ear. He held it up in his palm. "The Communi Captain Cutie Cator," he said proudly, then faltered when he saw the looks on the teams' faces. "It's… it's a work in progress."

"No, it's not that we disapprove of the name," clarified Wasabi.

"Yeah, though honestly it's kind of terrible," interrupted Fred. "You might just want to go by Cutiecator or something."

Wasabi continued. "Seriously man. Don't do this."

Briefly, Hiro did consider it. But, see, if truth be told… he was a little scared of the prospect of Karmi trusting him more than his alter-ego. He and her _had _been getting along better than ever these few days, and that was a problem.

She had missed him. And he had missed her. And their previously snarky banter had taken on a different meaning, most of which he had himself to blame for.

He was not oblivious to what any of that meant, but he did not want to accept it. If she didn't like him back- which was most likely- she'd be proven right. She'd assume he'd liked her from day one, and she'd never let him hear the end of it. That would ruin even the friendship they had salvaged.

But there was more to it than his pride. In short, he did not know what he wanted, or what he wanted to do about it. He kind of just wished he and Karmi would stay friends, but also… he didn't know if he wanted something more. And it would be weird talking to her before he figured this out.

"Cutiecator it is!" he announced.

"Yes!" whooped Fred. "Wait. Are you just naming it that or are you actually going to spy on Karmi?" He now looked unimpressed.

As Hiro walked towards the building exit with Baymax, Fred could only conclude that it was the latter.

* * *

Once outside, he mounted Baymax, and flew out the automatic glass doors into the illuminated night beyond. They hovered at the window of the next level.

Through it, he saw Karmi and her friends eating gummy bears and comparing notes. She was laughing at something Margo had said, and Vicky was swivelling in her chair. Karmi opened her mouth, pointing at it, and Margo said something to which she pretended to take offence. A gummy bear sailed from Margo's hand into Karmi's mouth and she chewed it gleefully.

He found himself smiling, hesitating.

"Hiro," his companion interrupted. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah. Yes, I am," he assured himself. "This is for the greater good." And he lifted the window slightly from the outside, placed the Cutiecator inside and sealed it shut. He could now vaguely hear the voices inside through his phone, which he had connected to it. But they seemed to be coming from further away than just through a glass window.

A few moments later, Baymax interjected. "Hiro. Should we leave now?"

"Yes. Yes we should." But Hiro did not want to return to his friends just yet.

"I think it's time to investigate that receptionist."

* * *

Back on the ground, Hiro's friends were waiting in the lobby. With no new leads to go on, it was all they could do to bounce theories off each other.

"This is just like in Issue 189," Fred commented, attempting to turn the ice balls Honey was throwing at him into water. A puddle was gradually growing in the lobby because of this, with the occasional chunk of melting ice. "Captain Fancy's just been in a fight with his brother when he gets tipped off that the guy might be hiding something. So he sends his alter-ego to do the scrutiny for him, and he finds out everything he needs to know without actually making up with his brother! He saves the day, the end."

Gogo was practising boomeranging disks around Fred's head. "That's a terrible lesson. We should check on Hiro."

Honey Lemon fidgeted, popping small chemballs with the heel of her boot. "I don't think he wants to be checked on. However much he needs to be."

Wasabi was about to speak, when the subject of their conversation burst through the double doors. Everyone sat up, alert.

"Guys, there's something I forgot to tell you. The receptionist here, I think it was her. She's the one doing all this- she's been missing ever since the power shortage started," Hiro stated certainly.

"You're sure about this?" Wasabi clarified. "She wasn't gone before?"

Hiro fumbled. "Well, I mean, she was… But she must have been somewhere preparing for it. I just know it- why would she have a security feed in all her students' labs? Why didn't I think it was weird before?"

"There must be a reason," Honey suggested. "You could ask Karmi, she'd probably know-"

"No," he interrupted. "We can do this without her. I already bugged her, so if anything relevant comes up during her conversation I'll hear it."

"Dude, you'll hear _all _her conversations," Fred interjected. "Like, even Captain Fancy didn't do that."

"Captain Fancy's dumb, but he's got a point. What's the likelihood she'll even talk about the receptionist anyway?" Gogo asked rhetorically.

Hiro looked to his robot companion. "Hey Baymax, can you scan for the receptionist?"

Baymax simply blinked at him. "Who is: the receptionist? I must have either a name or health statistics to locate an individual."

"Um, oh, she's… old. And- she has a hunched back! She's got white hair, but there are either streaks of blonde, brown or black in it- I can't remember…"

Baymax just tilted his head. "I am unable to find adequate data in my database of San Fransokyo's residents. There are: sixty-eight. Residents. Matching this description."

Hiro ran a hand through his hair exasperatedly. "Gah!"

"Hiro, guess what, I can read your mind," Fred quipped. He mimicked Hiro's voice, though not in a condescending manner. "I'm Hiro and I _wish _Karmi was here because then we'd actually be able to find my suspect, and maybe even find out if she _is_ a suspect in the first place."

Gogo was unable to contain her smirk. "Hiro. We've literally been fidgeting and chatting about Captain Fancy without a new lead."

"It's not long before the power comes back on, and when that happens, something bad will almost certainly have gone down," Wasabi said.

Hiro's eyes widened. "You're right." Without explanation, he rushed to the receptionist's desk, hacked into her computer again and brought up her schedule. His eyes ran across the page as the gang looked over his shoulder.

Honey Lemon was the first to realise, her mouth forming a small 'o'.

"But how will we stop her by then? We don't even know what she's doing!" Wasabi fretted.

"Hopefully she's still in prison and this is impossible?" Honey said.

"Maybe this is linked to the Creator somehow," Gogo suggested.

Meanwhile, Fred was completely and utterly confused. "Um, guys? What's happening?"

Hiro pointed with his cursor to the 10 pm time block on the online schedule. "It's 8:56 pm now," he explained, "But at 10 pm, she's written _Experimental Lab 2. Meet Dayan_. Now of course she can't write exactly what it is she's doing- the department of education can access all work-related files in case she needs to bear witness for a case or something- but this is pretty clear. She's meeting Di Amara in the experimental lab for some reason, at 10."

"And that's probably when we can guess the power will come back on. Either then, or after whatever business they've got," Wasabi added.

"Hold up. Isn't Di's name Diane though? As in D-I-A-N-E?" Fred asked.

"We don't know that, we're not jumping to conclusions," Gogo stated. "But we can't assume that she is in fact Di either."

Just then, the gang was compelled to clap their hands to their ears as a deafening squeal pierced the air.

Wincing, Hiro turned down the volume on his Cutiecator. "Sorry guys, my bad. I just caught something, be quiet a minute…"

* * *

_Ping!_

Karmi sighed and peered over at her phone, looking away from the petri dishes she was counting. Dang it. She had lost count at forty-something. Whoever was texting her had better have good reason…

She flipped her phone over and grunted in exasperation. It was her parents.

Dad: _Karmi it's nearly 9. It's too late to take the bus back, I'll pick you up as soon as I can._

She typed back a response immediately. If her dad got in the car, there was no stopping him. Or otherwise, actually.

Me: _Dad we're rlly close to a breakthrough. Pick me up around 10?_

_I can take the bus if youre too tired, don't worry about me._

Dad: _I'm on my way_

Karmi furrowed her brow in frustration, then typed back frantically.

Me: _No! Don't come, Margo and Vicky can't do anything without me._

And then there was the incoming call. Of course. Did her parents always have to be so predictable? She could tell what her father was going to say before he said it. And though her arguments were different every time, the outcome was always the same.

She pressed answer.

"Hi, dad," she sighed.

"Ah, Karmi," said her father, urgent and caring. "I don't think you should be at school this late. There's very little supervision, no teachers, no other students, and this is the time when alcoholics and drugies are on the streets. I can be there in twenty minutes."

"But I need to summarise the research that we did today!" she protested. "That will take at _least_ forty-five minutes, and the clones will have progressed by tomorrow- the data will be skewed! Even the smallest inconsistency could make our project messed up!"

"Madam, _you_ will be messed up if you don't get home soon. Your mother and I almost didn't send you to college early, remember? We did worry about the workload. Are you going to make us regret that decision? Karmi, you need to prove to us that you can handle it without compromising your safety, not to mention your sleep."

"It's only nine o'clock!" She heard herself sounding more like a whiny child now than a biotech genius. If only she was older, she thought wishfully. She could work as long as she wanted with no interruptions. There would be nothing standing between her and the Nobel prize she was sure she could one day earn. "Besides, Professor McGucket needs the results in by tomorrow."

"Well you can tell that Professor to McSuck It," her father retorted, and Karmi couldn't help but stifle a laugh. "Because my daughter's health and safety comes first. You can't work too hard, you're only sixteen! Why, when _I _was sixteen, I was playing cricket half the day and sleeping in the other half! Karmi, _beti_, I'll give you a bit more time. I'll be parked out the front by 10," he said softly, ending the call.

Karmi slumped back in her chair, skidding her phone across the table and groaning loudly. This was the sound that Hiro picked up on his Cutiecator, the loud sound causing the squeal in his earpiece. From here, he began listening intently.

"Karmi, that was your dad, right?" asked Margo. "Dude, he should chill. When I was sixteen I was partying until 2 am every Friday. My parents didn't care." She paused for a moment. "Huh. Maybe that's why I failed my entrance exam the first time around."

She shook herself. "Buuut this isn't about me. I can totally see his point of view. I mean, you _were _kidnapped by your ex-boss and forced to eat your boyfriend." She grimaced. "That sounded _way _worse out loud."

"Not my boyfriend," Karmi muttered. But she had bigger fish to fry. "I guess I have no choice." She was doing a lot of resigned sighing lately. "We'll have to wrap up the project, tell McGucket that we can't hand it in on time. I don't know if our marks will be affected…"

Vicky pulled out a chair next to Karmi, speaking quietly. "Karmi, you of all people don't have to worry about your marks."

"And don't worry about us, either," Margo quipped from the other side of the room. "I'm getting borderline A's- thank goodness my study habits improved- and Vicky's doing great, though she says she's failing."

"Your dad's just looking out for you," Vicky continued, smiling. "We understand."

"Yeah, Professor McGucket's out now for some reason, but he left his briefcase so he must be coming back," Margo said. "When he does, we'll go and let him know. I'm sure he'll get it."

Karmi smiled back. "Thanks, guys. But in the meantime, we'd better get graphing."

The three girls turned back to their respective sections of the project, working together as seamlessly as a cleverly stitched patchwork.

* * *

Back at the lobby, Hiro brought his hand to his ear, switching off the feed for now. He looked to his expectant teammates. Thank goodness they hadn't heard any of that.

"Guys, Professor McGucket," Hiro said seriously. "Ring any bells?"

Everyone shook their heads.

"I don't know, Hiro," Wasabi reasoned. "You do have a tendency to… jump to conclusions."

"And every time I did, I was right," Hiro replied. "So, from what I've heard, Karmi and Co are doing this project for one Professor McGucket. Karmi's leaving at 10 pm by car, and all three of them are going to see him to ask for an extension as soon as he comes back."

"Which should be…" he bit his lip, sprinting to the still unoccupied computer at the reception. "I can do an internet hack. This might take some time though…"

Meanwhile, the gang decided to try and get some homework done. Their superhero exploits had left them rather behind on their schoolwork, and luckily most of their work was online. Honey Lemon and Gogo settled into a comfortable pale green couch in the lobby, crouched on either end with a laptop each, their socks meeting in the middle. Wasabi sat down on a clean black chair, quizzing himself on particle physics terms on his phone. And Fred proceeded to try his best to distract them all.

It was nearly 15 minutes before the boy in the chair showed any signs of an outcome.

Hiro's face was making all different kinds of expressions, each one more perplexed than the last. At last, he threw down the mouse on the desk with a clatter and folded his arms.

"There's nothing! No texts, no emails, no scheduled appointments, not even a trace on the internet!" He ran a hand exasperatedly through his hair.

Fred rolled over in a second chair he had gotten from who knows where. He peered over his shoulder. "Wait, so you're saying this guy doesn't use technology? He must be _super_ old."

"No no, he does. He just hasn't left any records of what he's doing today, or when he'll be back."

"Um, isn't that most people?" Gogo said.

"I mean, yeah, I guess. But that was our last hope."

"Last bastion of hope!" Fred exclaimed. And then he read the room. "Oh," he said, getting down from his chair, where he had previously been standing in a power pose.

"Guess we're out of leads then," Hiro sighed.

Across the room, Honey Lemon stared at him. She was, frankly, annoyed. Not at how long this was taking- no, she was all good with that- but at how much Hiro was willing to do to avoid the problem rather than face it. He was _not_ out of leads, and he knew it. She _knew_ he knew it. And she would not stand for another show of ignorance. Those two kids deserved to be happy. And she was going to make _sure _that they were, or so help her.

She stood up, and without a word, stormed over to Hiro. She lifted him by the armpits out of his chair, and did not stop when he called out, "_Hey!_". She grabbed both his shoulders and walked him over to the stairs.

Hiro knew where she was taking him. It was the only place left for him to go, anyway. And so he submitted to her manhandling.

"Up the stairs, Hiro!" Honey encouraged, giving him a final push.

Hiro smiled grimly, stopping one stair up to look back at her. She gave him a cheery thumbs-up, and he knew he was only postponing the inevitable.

Of _course _he had to ask Karmi for help. Why did he have to keep getting thrown curveballs by the universe? Couldn't a ball ever just come _straight _at him for once? Because right now, Hiro genuinely didn't know what the right thing to do was. If he didn't ask Karmi for help, the whole city could be in danger. He knew that. But if he _did_, then _she_ would be in danger. Involving her in this at all meant whoever the bad guy was (probably either the receptionist or Di, but hey, maybe not) might harm her for information. And if her biotech smarts were being exploited, it wouldn't be the first time. But even if no harm came to her, and she was just _involved_, her parents might take her away once they learned what had happened, and something was bound to happen. Then she would be gone.

Probably for good this time.

Hiro felt like scrunching up his hair in his hands. Who was _he_, anyway? Was he Captain Cutie, leader of Big Hero 6 and fighter for justice? Or was he Hiro, a more-or-less regular kid who didn't want his friend to leave again? If he was both, then that just made the decision so much harder.

But Karmi only knew him as Hiro Hamada, boy genius and friend. If he dragged her into this mess, she would lose faith in him. She'd never trust him again.

She'd storm away from Hiro too, just as she had done with Captain Cutie.

Hiro took a deep breath in, then out. He wasn't ready, but then again, he never would be.

He grabbed the door handle.

Time to face the bear.

* * *

**Author's Note**

_sigh _Yes, Karmi's dad is based pretty heavily on my dad. But I find that characters based on people in real life come to life much better. So, thanks dad! For always looking out for me… too much…

'Beti' means 'daughter' in Hindi, in case you were wondering!

I quite like the idea of Honey Lemon being the 'mom' of their group of friends. Maybe Tadashi would have filled that role before he died, but Honey's starting to grow into it. She's deeply caring, but fierce about it too.

I know the updates are coming slow, but they _are_ coming, so hang tight! I've got a lot planned for the finale, so follow if you don't want to miss it.

Thank you to all those who have reviewed so far! ️


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